The process of the hills and valleys of the external ear to reinforce and diminish selective frequencies. 

Spectral filtering of the external ear

The ridges help to modify the character of sound that reaches the ear canal. Some frequencies are enhanced or suppressed. The brain is trained to pay attention to the frequencies that are enhanced through plasticity.

Grinnell College

The flesh that gives the visual appearence of the ear. Pinna is Latin for wing, talking about the shape of the ear. The pinnae channels sound waves into the ear canal.

Ears are distinct to mammals. On non-human mammals, the pinnae is able to change it's shape and direction to determine location of sound. The proprioceptors within the pinnae provide information to the auditory system to localize sound sources. 

Pinnae

Breedlove, S. & Watson, N. (2017). Behavioral neuroscience, eighth edition. Oxford University Press.

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